


For Appearance's Sake

by Officer_Jennie



Series: Tumblr Drabbles [48]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 12:35:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19887931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Officer_Jennie/pseuds/Officer_Jennie
Summary: Some secrets really don't need to be kept hidden





	For Appearance's Sake

**Author's Note:**

> Excuse me while I feed this ship tag some more, because _someone's gotta do it_

Out of all of the people in Konoha who he could’ve suspected to be a hoarder of cute things, Tobirama would have never been on that list. The man was quite vehement about his dislike for small animals, going out of his way to avoid them at all costs, getting a pinched expression every time they happened to walk past a tiny puppy or a stumbling kitten following its mother about.

It came as a rather shocking surprise, then, when Itachi came home to find their living room had been turned into a kitten play den. At least a dozen of the little critters tumbling over each other, a few much smaller than the rest sitting in a padded and cozy box while they mewled away, their stubby tails stuck straight up and their legs hardly able to support what little weight they had to them.

He side stepped a few of the larger ones carefully, though one managed to attach itself to his leg and claw up to his shoulder as he made his way to find his partner. When he did manage to find Tobirama, he was swaying on the spot in the kitchen, his fur pelt wrapped up in his arms like he was swaddling a baby as he hummed away some tune Itachi could swear he’d heard the man’s brother sing to his children.

“Tobirama-san?”

At his name, the man froze. He turned his head ever so slowly after a moment, pink dusting his cheeks as he stared pointedly away from Itachi. “I’ve asked you not to call me that…”

“Our house isn’t being turned into a cattery, is it?”

“Catteries are awful inventions - no animal deserves to be kept in such small cages!” Tobirama clenched the bundle closer to his chest, still not turning to face Itachi fully. “…and. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“There must be at least thirty kittens in the living room, Tobirama-san.” Another cat came meandering past him then, one that looked to have recently given birth if her size and belly were anything to go by. She jumped up on the counter and started cleaning her face, looking exhausted but still proud in that way all cats were.

“…they must have snuck in while I wasn’t looking.”

Ignoring the fact that the living room had clearly been set up for the little ones, Itachi let that one go, stepping forward to try and peer around Tobirama. “What are you holding?”

“Nothing.”

His little bundle gave a rather small noise, and Tobirama instantly cooed at it. Now that Itachi could see the front of him, he saw that there was a bottle in one of his hands - and the tiniest paw he’d ever seen found its way out of the fur and into sight for a split second.

“What a predicament, then.” Itachi reached out and gave the mother cat some love scritches, smiling softly as the kitten on his shoulder rubbed against his head. “I suppose if they went through all that trouble to sneak in, we can’t exactly get rid of them.”

“Of course we can’t get rid of them.”

“Of course.” He slid right up to Tobirama’s side, leaning against him. “I did spend a lot of time with Nekobaa when I was younger, and helped her raise several litters. Maybe I could help more abandoned little ones in the future.”

“…if I ever see any, I’ll bring them home. For you.”

For his partner’s benefit, Itachi didn’t protest that statement. Instead, he just leaned on him further, petting the little paw still stuck out from the fur bundle with one finger, wondering how on earth Tobirama had hidden all of these cats from him for so long.


End file.
